E-Scrap News Magazine: San Francisco says "No" to new Apples

## San Francisco says "No" to new Apples


_By Jake Thomas, Resource Recycling_

San Francisco is planning on prohibiting city agencies from purchasing Apple desktops and laptops, following the company's decision to withdraw from EPEAT.

Last week, EPEAT, the Environmental Assessment Tool, announced that Apple was [withdrawing from the program][1], which rates electronics for their environmental design, including their recyclability.

Now, city agencies in San Francisco will no longer be purchasing Apple laptops or desktops. The city has a procurement policy in place that requires any electronics purchased by it to meet EPEAT standards. In fact, similar procurement guidelines are in place for much larger buyers, including the U.S. federal government, eight U.S. states, two Canadian provinces, the Australian government, several large universities and multiple companies and non-profit organizations, including Ford and Kaiser Permanente. As yet, however, there has been no official word from these purchasers on the decision.

"We modeled our rule after the federal guidelines that were passed under President Bush," says Jon Walton, San Francisco's chief information officer, in an interview with [_ktvu.com_][2]. "That directs federal agencies to procure equipment that is 95-percent EPEAT compliant. So we think we're in good company."

However, only around 1 to 2 percent of the city's computers are made by Apple, reports [_CIO Journal_][3]. In 2010, the city spent only $45,579 on Apple products, including iPads, out of a total of $3.8 million spent on desktops and laptops.

Still, the Cupertino giant has sought to diffuse the controversy and assure buyers it is still committed to producing green electronics.

"Apple takes a comprehensive approach to measuring our environmental impact and all of our products meet the strictest energy efficiency standards backed by the U.S. government, Energy Star 5.2," Apple representative Kristin Huguet, told [_The Loop_][4]. "We also lead the industry by reporting each product's greenhouse gas emissions on our website, and Apple products are superior in other important environmental areas not measured by EPEAT, such as removal of toxic materials."

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[1]: http://resource-recycling.com/node/2896
[2]: http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/apple-in-sf/nPqsX/
[3]: http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2012/07/10/san-francisco-officials-plan-to-block-apple-procurement/?mod=google_news_blog
[4]: http://www.loopinsight.com/2012/07/10/apple-responds-to-epeat-concerns/
[5]: http://www.resource-recycling.com/images/e-newsletterimages/JTEnviro.jpg (JT Banner)
[6]: http://www.jtenvr2.com/rio.cfm
[7]: http://www.resource-recycling.com/images/e-newsletterimages/ESNe-news071212.html

URL: http://resource-recycling.com/node/2900